Stressed
by Evidence
Summary: Based on Zenbridge's challenge element idea- Grissom discovers something serious about Sara, will he finally share his feelings?


Title: Stressed  
  
Author: Evidence  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Author's Notes: Thanks to D. This is response to Zenbridge's element challenge over at YTDaW. The elements are at the end of the story.  
  
****  
  
"Grissom!" she called out to him as he passed by the locker room.  
  
He stopped abruptly and lifting his head from the manila folder he was staring into responded, "Yes, Sara?"  
  
"Um..." She avoided direct eye contact. "I wanted to return this to you," She pulled out from her locker a DVD case, "the DVD on the metamorphous of the African beetle you let me borrow."  
  
Grissom entered the locker room taking the DVD case. "Thanks. Did you enjoy it?"  
  
"Yes but..."  
  
"You didn't like it?" Grissom's face fell. When Sara began expressing an interest in bugs he was happy to offer his supply of materials on the subject matter. It energized him to think someone else liked something that he was so greatly into.  
  
Sara sighed and picking up her head to meet his eyes said, "I scratched the DVD accidentally. It doesn't play as well as it did."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"I'm sorry." Big tears sprang from her face.  
  
"Sara it's just a DVD, I can buy another one. I'm not mad; there is no reason for you to get upset." His hand briefly touched her shoulder.  
  
Sara wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. "It's just..." she stopped short of saying more. "I better get going; I have that doctor's appointment."  
  
"Oh yes," Grissom said although he had forgotten she asked for an hour off. "Did you have breakfast yet?"  
  
She pulled out a bar from her locker. "Protein bar. I'm going to eat it on the way to the doctor's office."  
  
"Oh good," Grissom said starting to leave. "Good luck," he added it absentmindedly.  
  
Sara began to cry again.  
  
Grissom's heart beat rose. Was she sick? Quickly putting down the folder he instructed her to sit on the bench in the locker room. He sat next to her, looking into her eyes. He saw fear. "What's going on?" he asked in a quiet tone.  
  
"I had my regular yearly physical and something showed up in the test results. So I went for another test and the doctor called me yesterday- he needs to see me in person."  
  
"The results could be good, Sara."  
  
Sara shook her head. "He said we need to discus 'options'. That can't be good."  
  
Grissom's breathe did a quick intake. "Sara...I..."  
  
"It's okay, I'm sure I'll be fine." She began getting up. "I better head out." She slammed the locker shut. Grissom had never seen her look so down.  
  
"Where's your coat?" Grissom asked concerned and searching for some small way to help.  
  
"I didn't bring it."  
  
"It's pouring out," Grissom said, rummaging through he CSI lockers until he pulled out a coat- Greg's coat- black with red lettering reading "Kiss Me". "Here put this on."  
  
Sara laughed. "No way. I would rather get soaked."  
  
"That's an order." Grissom tried to hand her the coat.  
  
"You can pull rank all you want, but I'm not putting that on." Sara couldn't resist grinning.  
  
"Okay but you will be the one to get soaked." He watched her walk away, a pang in his heart. She was leaving to hear what seemed to be bad news. "Sara!" he yelled stopping her. "Wait."  
  
She stopped wondering why he was rushing down the hall when he reached her, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the adjacent layout room. One wall of the layout room was covered with Chinese letters- a case Catherine and Nick had been working on involving a murder and 30 bloody cards housing Chinese Letters scattered about the victim.  
  
"Maybe you should ask Catherine to go with you," Grissom said still holding the hand he had grabbed to pull her into the room. Memories of Sara: her smile, her laugh, the feeling when her body was close to his but not touching, drifted into his mind. For the real first time in his life he felt fear, fear of losing her.  
  
"No," Sara said shaking her head.  
  
"How about Nick? Or Greg even?"  
  
"I'm fine really but thank you for your concern," she said both thankful and shocked at the amount of emotion she was seeing Gil Grissom display.  
  
"How about a squeeze ball? I have one floating around my office. You squeeze it and it relieves stress."  
  
She smiled now at him and with a squeeze of the hand still holding hers she looked up into his eyes. "I think I have my stress reliever right here."  
  
He smiled back at her and with finally the courage and resolve said, "I'll bring you to the doctor's."  
  
"You don't have to do that."  
  
"I want to."  
  
He still held her hand as they ran out to the Tahoe, the rain drenching them quickly.  
  
"Crap," Sara sighed as she got in the waiting SUV.  
  
"I offered you Greg's coat" Grissom said with a shrug and amused grin.  
  
Sara smiled.  
  
The SUV backed out of the parking lot and to the doctor's office. Grissom looked over at the woman sitting next to him, the one he couldn't share his feelings with but loved none the less. He couldn't lose her. He began to pray for the first time in years as they pulled on to the drenched highway.  
  
The end  
  
Challenge elements: A scratched DVD, protein bar, "You can pull rank all you want, but I'm not putting that on.", Wall hanging with Chinese Characters, Squeeze Ball. 


End file.
